Once again this year, Canton Festival of the Arts will feature a Serenity Garden that offers those in attendance a chance to experience the art of gardening, canning, environmental pursuits and healthy living.

B. J. Weeks, a bee keeper from Ball Ground, will have his bee hives on display.

Peach State Growers, which grows more than 2,000 orchids, will have a large variety of orchids for sale.

Merrilily Gardens, a perennial favorite at the festival, and a Cherokee County business, will exhibit locally grown hybrid day lilies, hostas, phlox, astibe and ferns along with homemade jams, jellies and salsas. New this year is green, pickled, cocktail tomatoes and hot, crunchy pickled okra.

American Pillar Nursery from Woodstock will present their patented Arborvitae. This new plant is ideal for landscape screening. It flourishes in both sun and shade and grows tall and narrow, making it ideal for pools or screening yard.

The Cherokee Extension office of the University of Georgia will be represented by their “master gardeners”

Renowned gardener Pamela Crawford will be on hand to talk about her new book, “Easy Gardening.”

Cloud’s Supply is a family operated farm and landscape supply company in Canton. They not only will have

available a complete line of Purina feeds, including wild bird seed, but also mulches, ground covers, fertilizers and landscaping Vers-Loc block retaining wall systems.

Clear Conscience Natural Market supports Georgia Organics and will have a variety of local fruits and veggies.

They will present a variety of healthy food alternatives, wheat-free and gluten-free foods, organic and fair-trade coffees, bulk herbs and all-natural pet food. Their foods contain no high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners or hydrogenated oils (trans-fat). In addition, during the day they will be giving yoga demonstrations.

All funds raised at the festival benefit the nonprofit Cherokee County Arts Center. The Arts Center’s goal is to enrich the lives of area residents by promoting, developing and coordinating excellence in the arts. Funding from the festival allows the Arts Center to host a wide variety of arts programming including classes and youth art camps.

*We welcome your comments on the stories and issues of the day and seek to provide a forum for the community to voice opinions. All comments are subject to moderator approval before being made visible on the website but are not edited. The use of profanity, obscene and vulgar language, hate speech, and racial slurs is strictly prohibited. Advertisements, promotions, spam, and links to outside websites will also be rejected. Please read our terms of service for full guides